Are Your Headphones Crackling When Plugged into the Computer?

You’ve just set your playlist, plugged in your headphones and you’re now ready to enjoy some relaxing time. However, wait, a crackling sound won’t let you play your music in peace. What could be the problem?

Nothing sucks like a steady stream of pops and snaps when you need to concentrate. Here’s a look at why headphones crackle when plugged into the computer and how to fix the crackling sound when using the headphones.

What Causes the Crackling Noise?

A crackling or static noise indicates that some parts of your sound system have malfunctioned. A broken headphone speaker could be due to listening to music in high volumes, poor wiring, long-term wear or physical damage.

A media player with wrong EQ settings could lead to crackling in headphones. Setting too high bass or treble can max out the volume which could cause a popping noise in your headset.]

Also, having loose wires on your headphones is another cause of the crackling noise. Headphones have thin layers of rubber entwined around thin conductive wires which transmit electrical signals to and from the speakers. A bent rubber casing can disconnect the wired which could result in crackling sound.

Having a defective auxiliary port or a headphone jack can cause crackling headphones. Test your headphones on different AUX ports to see if the problem is the port or your headphones.

How to Fix Crackling Noise in Headphones

Here’s how to fix the crackling noises in your headphones:

Check Your Audio Format

Sometimes the crackling could be due to having poor audio quality. Check this by right-clicking the speaker icon and tap on playback devices. Double click the default playback device with a green icon. Select your sound quality from the advanced tab.

Change the audio quality to 16 bit and click on okay to see if the problem stops. Also, you can try a different audio format level if the problem persists.

Update Sound Drivers

Outdated sound drivers can be the cause of the popping sounds. Your computer manufacturer’s site has the latest drivers. Download them and install to see if the crackling stops.

Use a Different Port

Connect your headphones to a different port to determine if the issue is with the port. Some headphones get static at the front port and not from the back due to hardware interference. If the headphones work correctly when using another port, your other port could be the problem. Fix any loose connection and check if this works.

Clean the Jack with some Rubbing Alcohol

Use a cotton swab and a small amount of rubbing alcohol to clean the jack. Allow it to try before you plug it in and check if this solves the problem.